March 4 - Education Mobilization to PROTECT OUR KIDS

The Consequences of Gutting Federal Education Funding

• It’s no secret that President Trump wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. It’s been a GOP talking point for years; it comes right out of Project 2025.

• Trump makes it sound as if he’s simply dismantling a bureaucracy with no collateral damage. The real effect would be to decimate vital funding that students rely on in every community. And it would abandon the department’s founding mission to level up opportunity in education.

• The president says he wants to return education to the states, but states and local school districts are already in charge, and we want that to continue.

• Make no mistake, gutting the department would mean fewer teachers and support staff, more crowded classrooms, and increased mental health and behavioral challenges, at a time when our competitors are investing in their kids and trying to out-educate us.

• Gutting and slashing the department hurts kids:

▶ 26 million vulnerable kids in every school district—rural, suburban and urban—will lose critical services designed to get them ahead and on grade level.

▶ 7.5 million students with disabilities (15 percent of students) in every community will lose access to special education services funded by the federal government.

▶ 10 million students from working-class families could lose need-based Pell Grants or subsidized loans, increasing college costs for working-class families.

▶ 12 million students across all 50 states would lose access to career and technical education programs designed to help them master the skills and knowledge required for employment in today’s rapidly changing economy—and for the jobs Trump says he will create.

• Dismantling the department and gutting federal support for education and healthcare will put a tremendous strain on rural, suburban and urban communities. Either students will lose services they rely on, or states and communities will have to raise taxes to maintain them.

• And why does Trump want to do this? Presumably to fund more tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations.

• The American people did not vote for chaotic and reckless attacks on our children and public schools.

• The students, parents and educators in our communities need all of us to stand up and show that we’re on the side of kids! That’s why we are marching for our kids on March 4.